Arsène Wenger believes that Real Madrid overpaid Tottenham for Gareth Bale,
and has claimed that Tottenham were in danger of risking their stability as
a result of their summer spending spree.

Arsenal play Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby on Sunday after a summer that has seen Spurs spend close to £100 million and Arsenal a good deal less than that.

But Wenger said that Tottenham’s spending risked unbalancing their squad, and pointed out that letting Bale go for a world record transfer fee could be perceived as a “lack of ambition”.

“It has a negative impact when you lose your best players, always,” Wenger said. “Because you are perceived by your fans as having a lack of ambition. The rest of the squad loses strength in their team. We have gone through that process consistently and it always demands a mental adjustment to keep your ambition alive. It’s very difficult.”

Nonetheless, Wenger believed that Tottenham had secured a princely sum for their prized asset. “They [Real] are very generous,” he said. “I don’t think that prices are linked with the quality of the players at all. This summer especially. The prices today are just linked with the financial power and the desire of the buyer.

“It’s impossible to assess a market and say that this is the normal price for this player because that is his quality. That has gone. There are very, very, very few players who economically justify or it make sense to pay over £50 million.”

“There is a technical risk when you buy more than three players,” Wenger said, “because you unbalance the stability of your squad a little bit. “It’s always difficult when you bring so many players in to predict how well they will do. You have to integrate more, your squad is always a balance, and there’s a bit more risk.

“It can work as well. It can click fantastically well. But there is a little risk in the stability of the squad and the technical consistency.”

This is not a risk that Arsenal need to worry about thus far. Wenger reiterated his view that he was seeking more signings before the closure of the transfer window on Monday night, but said: “We will not do anything stupid for the sake of saying we have done something. I can lend you my phone and you will see that I have 50 players offered per day.

“I can understand that it’s very interesting for people to read the newspapers and see who goes in and who comes out. But the only thing if you really love football is what happens on the pitch. We have a way to play, we have good players, and let’s focus on that.”

One player Arsenal have signed is former midfielder Mathieu Flamini, who had been training with the club on a casual basis. “At the start I didn’t want to sign him,” Wenger said. “I’ll be completely honest about that. Circumstances and his attitude convinced me to do it, because I didn’t expect him to be in that mental state and physical shape.

“Our job has a great quality. It is a good teacher of humility so you always have to be ready to change your mind. And he changed my mind.”